The NFL’s growing vision problem

The 49ers are lawsuit happy. They’re suing Santa Clara. They’re suing
their 2011 No. 1 draft pick. They threaten season-ticket holders who
want to get out of their plans with legal action. It’s a bad look.

The 49ers are lawsuit happy. They’re suing Santa Clara. They’re...

It’s all optics ...

Good look: The early indications are that John Lynch — despite his title — might, in fact, be the grown-up head of football operations that we’ve been urging the 49ers to hire forever.

Lynch is in the process of bringing in established staff and stated his main goal was to articulate a vision throughout the organization. That was something the former general manager Trent Baalke could not do, but was desperately needed.

Kudos to Lynch for basically setting a trap to test his new bosses. He told them he wanted the interview process kept secret, because he knew the team’s reputation as the leakiest ship in the NFL. Jed York and Paraag Marathe managed to stay silent, earning Lynch’s trust and in the process, also learning that he won’t tolerate such nonsense.

Bad look: The 49ers are suing Aldon Smith for $341,630.18 (don’t forget those 18 cents). Yes, he owes them the money from his prorated bonus. Yes, the 49ers don’t want to set a bad precedent. But it’s an unseemly look for a team that’s worth, according to Forbes, $3 billion.

More by Ann Killion

The 49ers coddled and protected Smith. Even when he was in deep trouble in 2014, the 49ers opted to pick up his nearly $10 million option, despite some in a decision-making position wanting to teach Smith a lesson. When Smith got in trouble yet again, Jim Tomsula — speaking for the organization — vowed to support him and that Smith “would not walk alone.”

The 49ers are lawsuit happy. They’re suing Santa Clara. They’re suing their 2011 No. 1 draft pick. They threaten season-ticket holders who want to get out of their plans with legal action. It’s a bad look.

Bad look: According to the New York Times, the NFL scrubbed all Super Bowl Media Night transcripts of any reference to President Trump or Commissioner Roger Goodell. On Wednesday, Goodell — with a straight face — said that the NFL is “transparent” in every decision it makes.

Bad look: One of the Super Bowl LI teams, the Atlanta Falcons, has a paper trail showing the organization’s elevating concern about the “excessive” reliance on painkillers. The email records were entered into a court record as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit by NFL players.

Bad look: The NFL is having the Raiders and Patriots play in Mexico City next season. Can’t the denizens of the Black Hole have something fun from the NFL?